Cold Creek resident among those backing new "Dark Skies" law

CALABASAS -- Newcomers who put up street lights in Cold Creek in the 1970s got a quick lesson in lighting etiquette, according to local legend. The bulbs were immediately shot out by old-timers - a message that a dark sky was preferred over a lit one in this rural Los Angeles County community.

Decades later, darkness is still preferred.

"Darkness just speaks of tranquility," said Mary Ellen Strote, whose Cold Creek home overlooks the wilderness of Malibu Creek State Park. "It just feels protective and calming."

Strote, the president of the Las Virgenes Homeowners Federation, is one of many neighborhood leaders enthusiastically backing a new ordinance that aims to keep the darkest parts of the county dark.

The new rules empower homeowners annoyed by a next-door neighbor's barn light, or irked by a nearby high school football field's flood lights.

First proposed by Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich in 2008, the ordinance is intended to preserve the unique character of the county's rural areas, which are increasingly being surrounded by new development, as well as conserve energy.

It's also intended to protect nocturnal animals, such as bats and owls, that require darkness to survive.

According to Antonovich Field Deputy Norm Hickling, the ordinance was developed after numerous homeowners complained that light from new subdivisions and residences was illuminating the once-dark ridgetops and canyons.

"The biggest complaints we got were that brand-new houses were being built, and lit up for security reasons," said Hickling. "Neighbors could see the homes two miles away."

The Board of Supervisors is expected to pass the ordinance - which has garnered support from numerous neighborhood groups and no opposition - by early next year. It would take effect six months later.

The new rules would apply to all areas deemed rural in unincorporated Los Angeles County. That includes nearly all of the northern area of Los Angeles County, parts of Chatsworth and Agoura, and the Santa Monica Mountains. It also encompasses parts of southern Los Angeles County, like South Diamond Bar, and eastward to the San Dimas Reservoir.

Under the new regulations, light from a residence or business can't trespass onto another person's property. Barn lights or corral lights must be shielded with a special covering, so the light faces downward, not out.

Facilities, such as ball fields, must also use downward-facing light. Even a bright patio light would be banned under the new ordinance if it shines on a neighbor's property.

Enforcement of the ordinance will be complaint- driven, and there will be a voluntary period of 45 days to comply. Noncompliance could result in a fine, for a figure still being worked out, according to county planners.

Riverside County is consider a similar ordinance for its unincorporated areas, and the Orange County city of San Clemente is also creating outdoor lighting standards to preserve nighttime skies.

There's been an uptick in dark sky ordinances in recent years, according to Scott Kardel, public affairs director at the International Dark Sky Association, a group that works to prevent light pollution.

The association's recommendations were used in crafting the Los Angeles County ordinance.

"Basically as cities grow larger, it's becoming harder and harder to see a natural dark sky," said Kardel. "Generally speaking, it's because of development, but it's also because lighting is poorly directed. There's little attention to how much light is actually needed or lights are often left on all night long."

Lori Weatherbie, who lives in Juniper Hills on the north slope of the San Gabriel Mountains, said light pollution is an ongoing issue in the rural area, particularly when neighbors place lights all around the edges of their property. The bright lights of a home located a mile and half away from her residence is a constant, glowing nuisance, she said.

"People who build up here sometimes bring city lights with them," said Weatherbie, president of the Juniper Hills Community Association, "because they think they need them for safety."

The new ordinance, she believes, "will give residents the peace and solitude of having dark nights."

In the Cold Creek area, where street lights are still rare, the neighborhood remains a draw for stargazers. When Halley's Comet passed through in 1986, cars lined Stunt Road, near Mulholland Highway, to catch the show, according to Strote.

"You give up a lot to live in the country," she said. "You have to drive a lot, for instance. But the payoff is that you get to see the stars."